Most companies, members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia, 71 percent, plan to keep employment at the current level until the end of the year, and 14 percent intend to hire new workers, although 60 percent of them have difficulties due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. This is shown by the latest research of that organization, in which 101 companies were surveyed.
15 percent of companies have stated that they plan layoffs by the end of the year. Two-thirds believe that they will not have liquidity problems, while they expect a drop in profitability by 25 percent, and investment by 30 percent. The biggest cause of the decline in business activity, as many as 68 percent of respondents are in reducing the demand for products and services, which is especially visible in the sector of tourism and catering, transport and real estate.
The severity of the crisis, caused by the pandemic, is best illustrated by the comparison with the results of the research from 2019, when 78 percent of companies planned business growth, and 61 percent new employment.
The President of the American Chamber of Commerce, Zoran Petrovic, pointed out that although the economy is recording significant declines in income, greater optimism in expectations is noticeable compared to the results of the research conducted at the beginning of March. At that time, 42 percent of members expected additional negative effects, while in the new poll, that percentage dropped to 25. He thanked the Government of Serbia for directly including the proposals that came from the economy.
– The state gave the economy the first injection of aid, but until it returns to the pre-crisis level, it is necessary to consider certain sector packages for particularly affected industries – said Petrovic. – In the coming period, a strong focus must remain on reducing all, especially administrative operating costs. The key to faster recovery is to increase the degree of digitalization of all services and processes of the state.
Half of the members of this organization do not use state aid measures and do not plan to do so. The best ranked measures of the Government among companies are the postponement of the payment of taxes and contributions on salaries, direct aid for small and medium enterprises and the postponement of the payment of corporate income tax.
The American Chamber of Commerce points out that a second wave of state measures is needed for particularly affected sectors, such as tourism, catering and transport, with consideration of measures to help the construction industry in the field of real estate. Losses in the hotel industry this year compared to last are higher than 90 percent, and recovery to pre-crisis levels is not expected before 2023, Novosti reports.
